A Strange New World
by rhiawoods
Summary: What happens when we put Daine and Numair's son into a modern day city? Well, let's find out...
1. Prologue

Hello, all! I am Rhia Woods, and this is my first story ever! Prepare to be shocked, amazed, or disgusted, depending on your personality. And now, on to the story... (by the way, this is a girl writing from a guy's point of veiw, so if he sounds a little weird, forgive me, because like I said, this is a first time thing.) So, the story, for real this time... wait! I almost forgot! The disclaimer: None of this is mine. Duh. No, I guess I should say, most of it is not mine. Myles is all my creation. The one in this story anyway. Okay to the story, for real this time. Honest...

I am Myles Salmalin, the second child of Numair and Daine Salmalin. I was named for a friend of my parents who was killed in an accident the week of my birth. To those who care about such things, I am known as the un-gifted one. A short discription of myself: I am tall, about six foot, five inches, two inches shorter than my father. I have dark brown curly hair that I wear in a ponytail. My eyes are dark brown. At the risk of being conceited, I will say that I am rather good looking. I have an older brother, Aram, who entered into the ranks of the Shang Warriors as an apprentice at the age of six. My younger sister, Sarra, began her training as a page at the usual age and is now in her second to last year as a squire to Lady Knight Keladry of Masbolle.

I was never at home in Tortall, where I lived for the first 18 years of my life. it was as if I was always marching to a different beat, a stronger tune, a faster song. I never fit in. I was the black sheep of my family- the only non-magic one. People always thought I should be, because I was the son of Numair Salmalin, the most powerful mage in the realm and Daine Sarrasri, the Wild Mage. Everyone assumed that I would have wild magic like my mother and older brother, or be a powerful sorcerer, like my father and younger sister. When they found out, that I wasn't, people would shun me, likely because they thought I couldn't possibly be a child of the most powerful mage couple in all the world. I wasn't even accepted in the small circle of spies that are known to each other, even though I was trained as such by my adopted uncle, Baron George of Pirate's Swoop, spymaster of Tortall. This one is easy to explain, I have not been allowed to be an active spy in the field, due to my parent's abnormal fear for my safety. The only place I was accepted or rather, left alone, was at my favorite inn and hiding place, the Dancing Dove. That was usually where I went to escape the stately court functions that bore me so much.

While I was in my late teen years, my parents and I started butting heads alot. One argument I remember particularly well happened in mid June of the year I was eighteen, and is the real beginning of my story...


	2. Chapter One

Hi, me again. A note I forgot to add to the last chapter, I wrote this before I read Trickster's Queen, so I didn't know the real names of Daine and Numair's kids, and I'm too lazy to change them. Also, I just made up a height for Numair, someone pointed out to me that it was wrong. I grew up with really tall people, so what's tall to me is really, really tall to others, also, I'm pretty tall myself.

Disclaimer: Anything you recognize is not mine. Except for Myles, and you can't have him. He's mine.

Chapter One

The weather was sweltering hot, as mid-June usually was. Not only was it hot, but it was also humid, abnormally so, even for Corus. This odd weather made everyone's temper short, even, no, especially mine. I wanted to leave the capital, travel to someplace cool, maybe even the Roof of the World. I really wanted to spy for the crown. I asked my parents, for the last time, if I could go.

"No." They said at the same time.

"But, Mother, Father, why?"

"You know how dangerous it is out there." answered Father.

"What if you get caught?" added Mother.

"I'm not stupid enough to be caught" I said under my breath, hoping they wouldn't hear. It didn't work.

"What did you say?" Father asked in a dangerously low voice.

I was not afraid of my father. I squared my shoulders and repeated "I am not stupid enough to be caught."

He exploded. "_None of the many **brave** men that have been spies and captured were stupid! Much of the time, it's an** accident** that makes them get caught!_ He would have continued ranting like this if Mother had not interrupted. "Myles. You are-"

_"Not old enough" _ I finished, snootily. I had heard that many times. "I'm older than Aram was when he finished his training.

" Aram has wild magic and was trained in Shang fighting. And do not interrupt your mother." Father bellowed.

"So sorry" I replied with just a hint of sarcasm. "It's not my fault I wasn't born with-"

"No, but it is your fault you don't practice your weapons."

"Actually, it's your fault, _Father_. You keep me home, _for my safety_, because you are afraid I might get into trouble."

"Myles. You cannot go, and that is final." Mother said quietly. I turned to leave.

"Don't touch that door!" Father pointed at it. The lock clicked. I tried to open it any way. The doorknob shocked me.

"Numair." Mother said.

"What, Daine." Father said wearily.

"Let him go." The door opened. I ran out, slamming the door behind me. I continued running as Father yelled "Don't slam the door!"

That was the last I heard of either of them for a very long time.

People yelled at me as I ran past. I knocked someone down, but kept running without a backwards glance. I ran away from my family's rooms, out of the palace, toward the city. As I left the palace gates, I slowed to a walk. Gods, it was hot out there. As I walked through the temple district, I considered my options. I couldn't go back to the palace, and I had been kicked out of the Dancing Dove by the reigning king of thieves. I finally decided to go to a new cafe in town, the Robbin's Basket. I had heard that their cold drinks were the best in town, and that was what I needed just then.

As I drew near the cafe, I heard someone behind me calling my name. I looked back. It was the very ugly, rude, and stupid leader of the Lightnings, the gang who liked to make things difficult for me when I went into the city. His name was Henry. The entire gang was running after me with their head idiot in the lead. With a growled curse, I started running again. They chased me around a couple of corners into the alley behind the Robbin's Basket. I dashed around the corner of the wood building, in an attempt to hide from the gang. I leaned against the building, trying to get my breath back, and wishing fervently that I was anywhere but in a dirty back alley. After a moment of not hearing anything around the corner, I looked to see if they were still there. They were. The last thing I remember is the sneering, dirty face of Henry as he knocked me unconscious with a wooden club.


	3. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: Duh. It's not mine. It's called "fanfiction" for a reason. Someone else made it up, and I'm just writing about it. Again, duh. Does someone really check every single chapter of every single story of every single author on this site? That's got to be in the millions of things to check. Okay, now that I'm done with my little rant, you can read this new chapter!

Chapter 2

The first thing I noticed when I woke up was the heat. It was much hotter than it had been, but much less humid. I was lying on a patch of grass, under a small tree. There was a clear building that appeared to be some kind of cafe. I did not recognize this place. I did not know were I was, but I was definitely not in Corus anymore. Had Henri and his gang taken me some where else?

The people in the cafe were all strangely dressed. They were getting some kind of concoction from a very busy, brown haired girl behind a counter. No one was sitting at the small tables in the building, rather they were getting their treat, exiting the building, and getting into strange carriages that made an awful noise and moved without horses or any other visible means. I stood up and noticed two things. One, I was not wearing my clothes anymore. I had been wearing clothes that would keep me as comfortable as possible in the heat: thin tan breeches, loose cream colored shirt, and comfortable boots. Now I was wearing dark blue, stiff breaches, a white shirt, and black shoes, the likes of which I had never seen before. The other was that my head hurt so bad that it was making me dizzy. I started to panic. I was not only in a strange place, but I was also injured. What had happened?

I looked around, searching for something familiar. There was nothing. Across a street with many of the fast moving carriages, there was what looked like a shopping center, but nobody leaving the shops had packages. To the other side, across a lot with many of the vehicles stationary in it, was another, larger shopping center. The biggest shop had a sign that said "Von's" in large red letters. At least the language was the same, though who Von was I had no idea. The cafe was called Baskin' Robins.

I had to sit down, or I would fall down. There was a table by the door of the cafe. Every time the door opened, a blast of cold air hit me. I sat on the bench that was attached to it, and put my head in my hands. Where was I, and why wasn't I in Corus? So many questions were running through my head, that I was startled when something nearby made a loud noise. I looked up to see what it was. One of the strange carriages had stopped right next to the table. Two girls got out, deep in conversation about something. I caught some of what they were saying. I heard my _parent's_ names. I realized they were talking about what their son would look like. Why would they talk about something like that? It would be very easy to find out.

One of the girls was tall and had long auburn hair. She was wearing brown breeches that went halfway down her calf and a black shirt. The other girl was short, wearing breeches that didn't even reach her knees. She had... wait, I must be hallucinating. She couldn't have _blue_ hair. These girls' parents must be ashamed to let their girls out in public dressed like this. The taller girl got two books out of the back of the carriage, smacking her head on the edge of the door frame. One of the books was titled the Tamora Pierce Files. I couldn't see the title of the other.

The girls shut the doors of the carriage and started walking to the door of the cafe.

They didn't get very far. The taller girl tripped on a rise of several inches. Her books

went flying as she tried to catch herself. I started to stand up, but then I realized that the girl couldn't be hurt, she was laughing too hard.

"Nice, Rhia." the blonde girl said, picking up the books. "Next time watch where you're going."

"Ha ha, very funny." Rhia said. "Where's my shoe?" She found it and put it on, still sitting on the ground. "Help me up."

The two girls managed to get to the door without anymore accidents. Neither one saw me sitting by the door. They went to the counter and got something in bowls from the girl behind the counter, who I now noticed was wearing a name tag that said "Sarah." They didn't leave, but sat at a table near the door. Rhia sat with her back to me. Her friend sat across from her. I went into the shop and went to the counter. It was made of glass. I realized that the clear stuff the walls were made of was also glass. Whoever made them was very talented, I had never seen such clear glass before, and so much of it!

Behind the counter there was about twenty buckets, filled with brightly colored stuff. Sarah didn't look at me, but was talking to the girls behind me. "I've always thought he should look like Orlando Bloom."

The board behind Sarah told me that the shop sold something called "ice-cream." That must be what was in the buckets. The prices were in a currency I didn't recognize, so I wasn't sure, exactly, how much it cost. And who was Orlando Bloom? "Excuse me, I would like some ice-cream." I said to Sarah.

Rhia said "That's what I think, but Carra, here, doesn't think so."

"What flavor, one or two scoops, cup or cone?" Sarah said to me. To Carra, she said " so what do you think he would look like?"

I found a bucket with plain white ice-cream in it. "I would like that one, one scoop, in a cup."

"I think he should have blue-gray eyes, like Diane, and a long nose like Numair. Orlando doesn't have either." Carra answered.

"So? What does that have to do with anything?" Rhia said. "Kids don't always have to look like their parents."

Kids? They weren't talking about goats. Sarah gave me a cup with a ball of ice-cream in it. "A dollar fifty, please."

"Will this cover it?" I handed her a gold noble. Sarah got a strange look on her face as she examined the coin. Her lips formed the words "Tortall" and "One Noble" that were inscribed around the edge. She flipped it over and saw the faces and names of King Jonathan and Queen Thayet. "Rhia, Carra, look at this." Sarah tossed them the coin and looked at me for the first time. Her eyes widened in surprise, as if she knew me, but hadn't seen me in a very long time. Her scrutiny made me uncomfortable, so I turned to Rhia and Carra. Carra was examining the noble. Rhia, however, was looking at me with the greenest pair of eyes I has ever seen, greener even then Sir Nealan's.

"Where did you get that noble?" Rhia asked me.

"That is the currency used in Tortall."  
"I know that, but Tortall doesn't exist. Where did you get it?"

"Tortall does exist, I live there. I got that there. Do you want to see more?" I pulled my money bag out of my pocket and handed it to Rhia. Where are we? _Where_are we?"

By then Sarah and Carra were staring at me, as well. "This is Ridgecrest, California. It is June 14, 2004. Tortall does not exist." Carra answered.

"Then how am I supposed to get back home?" I panicked. This was bad. Very, very bad.

"Back to the looney bin, you mean?" asked Rhia.

"Very funny. I am just as sane as you are."

"Oh, not very then." Quipped Rhia, ducking the paper napkin Rhia threw at her. "So, who are you?"

"I am Myles Salmalin. Numaier Salmalin and Daine Sarrasri are my parents."


	4. Chapter Three

Hi. Thank you to everyone who reviewed. Just so you people know, flames are okay. Like any writer worthy of the name, I appreciate constructive criticism. I like to know what I'm doing right, but I also like to know what I'm doing wrong.

Note: I have put up all my pre-typed chapters, so I will have to type all the chapters before I update, from now on. I will probably be even longer in between updates now, because I am a major procrastinator, and will not do anything until my life or grade depends on it.

Disclaimer: Come on. Have you people not gotten it yet? EVERYTHING ON THIS SITE IS BASED ON SOMEONE ELSE'S WORK!!!!!!! (Except for the columns, or whatever they're called) That means what I write, and what you write, and what the crazy guy down the street writes!!!!!!!! My goodness, will you people get a clue?! (Sorry about that. It's kinda annoying.)

Chapter 3

"Come sit down." Rhia pulled out the chair next to her. As I sat down, one of the vehicles, an extremely loud one, drove past the shop. I flinched. "What _are_ those things?"

"What, cars?" Carra replied, setting the noble on the table.

"Um, sure." I was still confused.

"You know, maybe you really are from Tortall. How you got here, I don't know, though." Rhia sounded rather thoughtful.

"Do you want to know?" I asked.

"Sure." All three girls answered.

I told them the whole story. When I finished, there was a moment of silence. (A/N We'd like to dedicate this moment of silence to all those who have been stabbed with pink fluffy sporks...........Thank you.) (sorry) Rhia pulled a white tube out of her pocket, opened it, and rubbed it on her lips.

"What's that?" I asked.

"A magic spell. It makes anyone I kiss fall hopelessly in love with me." Rhia leaned dangerously close to me and puckered her lips.

"But you said there is no magic here!" I leaned away from her, slightly panicking.

"There's not. Rhia, don't tease." Carra said. To me she said "It's chapstick."

"And what exactly is _that_?"

"Stuff to keep my lips from getting dry. I can't stand that. So, if you're really who you say you are-"

"I am!" I interrupted her.

She glared at me. "-Then I was right. Numair and Daine's first son does look like Orlando Bloom." She finished triumphantly, and settled back in her chair.

"Second son, actually. I have an older brother. Who is Orlando Bloom?"

"Older brother? What's his name? And what does he look like?" Carra asked curiously.

"His name is Aram. He has blond hair and blue eyes. Who is Orlando Bloom?"

"HA! So I was more right than you!" Carra grinned at Rhia. Rhia stuck her tongue out at her.

"Okay, for the third time, who is this Orlando Bloom?"

Rhia took a piece of paper out of the unmarked book. "This is Orlando Bloom, the hottest guy on the planet."

"Hottest?" I asked, taking the paper from Rhia. On it was a portrait of...me? No, not quite. His eyes were a slightly different shade of brown than mine, and his nose was a little different. But other than that... "Who painted this? It's an amazingly detailed portrait."

"Hottest, best-looking. And it's a photograph, not a painting." Carra explained for me.

"What's a photograph?"

"That." Carra said helpfully, pointing at the picture.

Just then, a teenage girl caught sight of me. She screamed, and ran over. "Can I have your autograph? Please?" This got the attention of the other girls she was with. They all rushed over and clamored to be first. One even pulled out a peice of paper and something that looked like a stick. Rhia laughed. "Relax, girls, this isn't Orlando Bloom. He is Myles...Myles Smith. He's my, uh, my third cousin, visiting from England."

"Oh, sorry Rhia." The first girl said. They all looked quite put out, and left the ice-cream shop.

"Myles Smith, your third cousin?" I asked. "And what is England?"

"They would have recognized your name, well, your last name anyway. They have all read Tamora Peirce's books. They were some of my sister's friends before my family moved." Rhia replied. England is a country, far away from here. It would have explained your accent."

Who is Tamora Peirce? And I don't have an accent. You do."

"I do not. Tamora Peirce is an author. She wrote books about Tortall. That's how we know about it. I guess that what you say about Tortall is true, then she is a historian, of sorts." Rhia answered.

"You both have accents to each other. Rhia, we should go if we're going to do some shopping." Carra seemed to have the voice of reason in this duo. Rhia appeared too scatterbrained to remember much but her own name.

And it's true, I am! This isn't really a good place to stop, but I write without many logical chapter breaks, so I will just make chapter breaks wherever I want them, and you will have to suffer, because this is my story, not yours. So there. Ha. : P"

"Smiling is the second best thing you can do with your lips" Anonymous (Translation: I don't know who said it.)(And eating is not the first)(the first time I heard that quote, all the girls in the room went "ahh" and one of the guys said " and eating's the first" we just about clobbered him)

sorry you have to listen to my psychobabble agian, wait,Imean read it, but i want to know how many people read my story, so if you would please send me a review, i would appreciate it. You don't hae to say anything, just hi, or ?, or something. Thank you. I am really leaving now. Bye.


	5. Chapter 4

Bonjour! Comment allez-vous? Je regrette, ah, forget it, I'm sorry it's been so dang long. Like a year. And a half. Almost. Anyway, I've been busy. Sort of. Maybe just lazy. Anyway, I was looking at that last chapter I put up, and I'm really sorry there's so many typos. I should probably read over what I've typed, but it's the lazy thing showing again.

Disclaimer: If you recognize it, it's not mine. It is, regrettably, the creation and possession of Tamora Pierce, or whatever other weird references I might have made. It's been about three years since I wrote this (how's that for procrastination?) and I don't remember what I've written. I'll find out as I type it!

Chapter Four

Rhia looked out the window and saw that it was getting late. "Oh, crap. We need to get dinner stuff, Carra. Hey, Myles, where do you live?"

"In Tortall"

"Oh, yeah. Would you like to stay at our place for a few days, since you have no place to go?"

"Sure, I guess."

"Come, then." Rhia stood and started toward the door, pausing to throw her cup and spoon away. Carra stood, put the picture away and followed. I went with them outside. I noticed that the air had cooled slightly once the sun had started to set. Rhia and Carra got in their car. When she noticed I was just standing there staring at it, Rhia got out and opened a door for me. I sat as she got back in her seat and pulled the door shut. I was startled to hear a rumbling noise and feel the car vibrate beneath my feet. Cool air started circulating slowly through the car. Rhia turned around to face me. "Buckle up."

"What?"

She pointed to a strap with a buckle on it by my head and demonstrated how to buckle it, pulling her own buckle down to the counterpart on the seat. Rhia and Carra waved to Sarah, who had been relieved, and the car started to move backward! I gasped and grabbed onto the seat. Rhia started laughing.

"Just what is so funny?" I demanded.

"You!" She giggled. "Being afraid of the car!"

"Come on, Rhia." Carra said. "It wasn't so long ago that you were afraid of driving yourself." Rhia growled threateningly at her friend.

"Why was she afraid of cars?" I said, more to keep the peace than of real interest.

"A couple years ago, her older sister was driving her somewhere and they were hit by another car. She was scared of cars for a long time after that."

The car stopped in front of a large store with a sign, "Albertsons." (Disclaimer: Albertsons belongs to, guess who, the Albertsons company! Bet you really thought I had created it, didn't you? Sorry, the constant need for disclaimers bothers me.)

"These things can hit each other!" I exclaimed as we got out. "Is it dangerous?"

"Yeah, people die from accidents all the time." Carra said.

"I am never getting in one again." I said fervently.

They laughed. "Yes, you will." Carra said as we went inside. "Unless you want to walk every where." Rhia got a basket on wheels, which she called a 'cart' from the front of the store and started to push it up and down the aisles, putting things in it.

"By the way, what's for supper?" Carra asked.

"Stir fry."

"Oh, good."

"What's stir fry?"

"You'll see," Rhia said, a little too mischievously for my comfort.

"I don't like the sound of that."

"Don't worry, it's really good."

We had reached a section that had vegetables stacked in displays. I remembered a question I'd had for a while. "Hey, how are these places kept so cold when it's so hot outside?"

"Air conditioning. They're machines that cool off the air and blow it into the building." Carra explained.

"How?"

"Don't know. Grapes?" Rhia asked.

"Oh, yes." Carra replied.

"Okay, let's go." Rhia turned the cart around and headed back to the front of the store. Carra and Rhia started putting the things they had gotten on a counter.

"Don't say anything," Carra said quietly.

"Why?" I didn't know why I was ordered to silence.

"I'll explain later."

I started slightly in surprise as the counter top started moving. The woman behind the counter moved each item under something that beeped with each one.

"Thirty five sixty is your total."

Rhia wrote the amount on a piece of paper and handed it to the woman. A teen-aged boy had been putting the items in paper sacks and placing the bags in the cart. Carra took the cart and wheeled it back outside. Rhia and I followed. She opened the back of the car and started putting the stuff in it. "So, why couldn't I talk?" I asked.

Carra explained as Rhia took the cart back inside. "Checking out, what we were just doing, is so common that they would have asked uncomfortable questions if you had acted like you didn't know what was going on." Rhia returned and we got back in the care and drove a few minutes in silence.

"Where are we going?" I asked as we went past the ice cream shop we had been in earlier.

"Home." Carra replied as she stopped the car on the side of the street a short way from the ice cream shop.

I'm reading what I wrote three years ago and I'm noticing that I used to have pretty nice handwriting. Nothing like mine is now. It actually used to be legible. Amazing.

Looky, looky, I wrote a chapy! Okay, that was bad. I'm going to stop now. I'm hoping I won't drop off the face of the earth again, but if you think I've been too long between updates, send me a really nasty review telling me to get off my lazy butt and type a few pages and I'll either give you a good reason why I haven't done it yet (like my tyrannical teachers have given me three essays in a week. That's only a slight exageration. It's actually more like eight days.) or put another chapter up in order to appease my wonderful readers.


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